Means for controlling the direction of cutting drill-holes in rock



0. HALL AND V. P. Row. MEANS FOR CONIROLLING THE DIRECTION OF CUTTINGDRILL HOLES IN ROCK.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I. 920.

'' Famed June 7,1921.

v I Q I I a x wx I I 8 3 4 5 Fig 2.

umrao STATES PATENT orrrcef.

0mm HALL AND vro'ron PUTNAM ROW, or Common, ommo, Gamma.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING- THE DIRECTION OF CUTTING DBIIHHOLES IN ROCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Juhefl, 1921.

-Application filed June 1, 1920. Serial No. 385m To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that we, OLIVER HALL and VICTOR PUTNAM Row, both residentsof the town of Uoniston, county of Nipissing,

Canada, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Means for Controlling toeliminatethe uncertainties experienced in the use of the diamond drill,due to the inability to drill straight holes and thereby avoiding.abortive operations and heavy and useless expense, and to devise aneffective means for controlling the direction of the cutting. operation,thus enabling accurate borings and surveys to be made.

It is well known to those conversant with the use of diamond drills thatit is practically impossible to drill-a straight hole. This is due tovarious causes. If the drill meets a fissure plane ata narrow angle, anabnormal side thrust occurs upon the drill which de-. flects it in thedirection of the plane of the fissure and if the hole approaches afissure at a wide angle, the tendenc is for the drill to penetrate thefissure p ane at right angles. The face of the bit having one side insolid formation beyond the fissure and the other side in the selvage ofthe fissure tends to turn, the rods curving to the extent of theirclearance in the hole. Other elementstending toward inaccuracy in boringare found in the condition of the boring equipment or the manner inwhich it is fed and a curvature once started increases very rapidl y heprincipal feature of this invention consists in placing a guide withinthe drill hole to deflect the drill in the desired direction.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional view of a holeshowing our improved deflecting device inserted therein.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the drill deflector with Figs. 2, 2",2, 2 and 2 illustrating enlarged cross sections thereof.

Fig. 3 is an enlar ed detail elevational view of the drive we ge andFig. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of thepilot wed e.

In carrying this invention into efi'ect, t c direction of the hole issurveyed by the use of a clinometer well known to mining engineers andif it has been determined that the curvature of the hole being drilledis too great, our improved apparatus is then brought into use. Provinceof Ontario, in the Dominion of A dry turned wooden plug 1, grooved toallow Water to pass, is pushed down into the hole with the drill rods tothe point where it is desired to branch the hole. allowed to swell. Thedrive wedge 2 is then dropped into the hole and driven into the woodenplug by the use of a blank bit. The wedge 2 is formed of a cylindricalshape having a wedge point 3 at the lower end and a large recess l'iscut in one side thereof .close to the-base. .The top surface is beveledoil from above the recess 4 to the upper end, leaving a small shoulder 6at the top against which the driving bit may operate. The cutting of therecess 4 in the drive wedge makes" it heavier on one side and whendropped into the drill hole the recessed sideand the wedge face 5usually face in. the direction of the curvature. The position of thedrive wedge may be surveyed by the use of a clinometer having its lowerend shaped to fit the wedge surface 5.

The pilot wedge 7 -is a cylindrical metal block formed with. a wedgesurface 8 to coincide with the wedge surface 5 of the drive wedge andatits upper end it is provided with a threaded extension 9. i The pilotprovided with a central water It is then corresponding with that of the.pilot wedge and at the lower end it is formed with a threaded hole toreceive the threaded portion 9 of the pilot wedge which is screwedthereto. A water hole 11 extends upwardly through the center of thewedge 11 and branches ofi to one side intermedlate of its length. A

longitudinal groove 12 is formed in the we ge ll commencing at a pointadjacent to the threaded end and tapering inwardly to the top. Thetransverse curvature of the groove 12 is of a standard radius smallerthan the radius of the wedge, for instance,

an E radius groove is cut in. an A radius wedge.

A cross section of the metal at the upper end of the deflecting wedge, ashort distance from its extremity is in the form of a thin crescent andas shown in Figs. 2 to 2 the. thickness of the crescent graduallyincreases until finally merges, closeto the scribed limits.

bottom of the wedge, into the cylindrical formation.

At the top end of the deflectin wedge 11 a ring 13 is formed of the samediameter as the bottom end of the wedge. This holds the wedge in placewithin the hole and is of assistance in placing the wedge.

In order to properly place the deflecting wedge, the deflection of thehole and the relative location of the beveled face 5 of the drive wedgeare determined by a careful survey. The pilot wedge 7 is then screwed onto the deflecting wedge and the relative positions of the grooved face12 of the defleeting wedge and the beveled face 10 of the pilot wedgeadjusted to insure the proper location of the grooved face of the wedge11 in relation to the hole. The pilot wedge is then secured by insertinga pin into the threaded portion and both members are then placed in thehole and the pilot enga 'es the beveled surface of the drive wedge andholds the deflecting wedge in the desired position.

When the wedges have thus been located a bit is lowered with a corebarrel. If the drill hole is A size an E. size bit is used, it passesthrough the hole in the collar and being guided by the metal of thewedge, a hole is drilled in the face of the rock divergent from theoriginal hole. The curved face ofthe deflecting wedge is E size,conseqnently the E bit follows the wedge without cutting into it.

After a preliminary drilling of a few feet, the E bit is removed and aspecialreamer bit is inserted and the collar 13 at the top of thedeflecting wedge is cut away and the hole in the rock is reamed out 'tosize A. After this has been accomplished, the regular A rod and A bitare used and an A hole is then continued below the wedge. The effect ofthis is to start a new hole branching off from the old one and thedeflection of the hole is thus corrected. By

this method any size of drill hole may be.

branched without altering its size.

It has been found in practice that with the use of an apparatus such asdescribed very great accuracy in placing the wedges can be obtained anda hole of very great depth can'be maintained practically straight bymaking careful surveys using the deflecting wedge in the mannerdescribed when the deflection gets beyond certain pre- It will bereadily understood that with the use of this apparatus a single hole canbe branched in any desirable direction and at any desirable depth,enabling the engineers to swing a series of holes in differentdirections from a single initial drill-hole and to thus cover anexceptionally wide area of rock.

An apparatus such as described has been found to be very beneficial andhas effected very great saving wherever it has been used, it having beenthoroughly tested in various formations and at very great depths and byits use the operators have been able to completely control the directionof operation of the drilling machinery.

What We claim as our-invention is 1. Means for controlling the directionof cutting drill-holes in rock, comprising, a longitudinally taperedmember adapted to be inserted into the drill-hole with the thin enduppermost, and means adapted to be inserted into and definitely locatedin the drill hole for locating and securing said tapered member in adefinite position in relation to the direction of the drill-hole.

2. Means for controlling the direction of cutting drill-holes in rock,comprising, a

plug adapted to be secured in the drill-hole, a member adapted to besecured to said plug and having a locating surface at its upper end, anda deflecting wedge having a longitudinally beveled surface and alocating surface at its lower end adapted to coincide with the locatingsurface of the aforesaid member.

3. Means for controlling thedirection of cutting drill-holes in rock,comprising, a plug adapted to be secured in the hole, a drivewedgehaving a harpened lowerend adapted to enter the plug and a beveledupper end, sald drive wedge. being recessed on the side adjacent to thebevel, and a deflecting .wedge having its longitudinal surface beveledfrom the top end and having a beveled lower end adapted to coincide withthe beveled upper end of the drive wedge.

4. Means for controlling the direction of cutting drill-holes in rock,comprising, a plug adapted to be secured in the drill-hole, aneccentrically weighted cylindrical member having a sharpened wedge atits lower end and a beveled upper end, a deflecting wedge beveledlongitudinally at one side, and a pilot wedge rotatably adjustable onsaid deflecting wedge and having a beveled lower end adapted to coincidewith the beveled end of the beveled cylindrical member.

5. Means for controlling the direction of cutting drill-holes in rock,comprising, means for plugging the 'drill hole havinga locating uppersurface, and a deflecting Wedge having a ring at the top end and alongitudinal coneaved groove extending downwardly from said ring andtapering ofl toward the vbottom, the lower end of said deflecting wedgehaving a'locating surface adapted to engage the locating surface of theplugging means.

6. Means for controlling the direction of cutting drill-holes in rock,comprising, means for plugging the drill-hole presenting a locatingsurface at the upper end, a deher to fit within the drill-hole having a-10 rating surface at the lower end and formed with a transverselyarc-shaped concavity on one side tapering from the bottom and upwardl yto a thin edge at the top and formin a guide for the drill.

'1. Means for controlling the direction of cutting drill-holes in rock,comprising, a turned wooden block having surface grooves for the passageof water adapted to be inserted into the drill-hole, a drive wedgehaving a pointed lower end adapted to enter said plug and formed with arecess in one side thereof and a beveled upper surface and a drivingshoulder at the upper end of said bevel, a pilot wedge beveled tocorrespond with the beveled surface of the drive Wedge, and a deflectingwedge adjustably secured to said pilot wedge and having its longitudinalsurface formed with a transversely concaved taper extending to the upperend.

OLIVER HALL. VICTOR PUTNAM ROW.

